The Half-breed
by Traitorous the Loyal
Summary: AU, feudal Japan-esque setting. Demons and humans live in the same world. Keiko is an ordinary village girl. Yusuke is Raizen's half-breed son. When Keiko's village is attacked, Yusuke rescues her. Inspired by "Meeting the Wolf" by seireidoragon. (Similar set up, different plot)
1. Chapter 1

_**I hereby declare that I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho**_

* * *

The sun on her face was what woke her, just as it had the day before, and the day before that. Keiko Yukimura's life was pretty routine. She didn't mind. Any big change in that routine could spell disaster for her or her village. Still, she always felt that her life was missing something. She pushed such thoughts from her mind as she got up, best to focus on doing her best in the reality of here and now. She met Shizuru in the kitchen, in order to help her hostess in preparing breakfast.

"You know, you don't have to help," Shizuru told her. "I'm letting you stay here because you're my friend, not because I want a servant."

"I know. I just think it's courteous to help those nice enough to let me stay with them, friends or not." It was harvesting season, so that meant that instead of staying with her parents, farmers who lived on the outskirts of the village, she stayed with her good friends, the siblings Shizuru and Kazuma Kuwabara. Why would a farmer's daughter be living away from the farm? Simple, she had the potential to one day find work that would make her rich, relatively speaking that is. Besides, she could always go back and decide to be a farmer in the end. A loud ruckus seized her attention. Stumbling down from the Loft above them came Kazuma, orange-red hair a mess, grumbling about who-knows-what.

Shizuru took one look at him and smirked. "Well, look who's up before noon. I hope you're ready to work your ass off Kazuma." His response was to grunt and inquire about the status of his breakfast. "Relax little brother, you'll get it soon enough. Besides, is that any way to act around our guest?"

It would seem that only then did Kuwabara, only his older sister called him by his given name, notice that Keiko was up and helping in the kitchen. "Oh Keiko! I'm sorry; I didn't know you were in here." While he was a bit clumsy in both speech and actions, Kuwabara was one of the village's three strongest fighters. Both he and his sister possessed high spiritual awareness, that is, the ability to sense the presence of other spiritually-strong humans, demons, and even ghosts. The difference between the two siblings was that Kuwabara had trained under master Genkai, the village elder, in order to learn how to use his spirit energy in battle.

"It's fine, I know you didn't mean it."

"No really, I should be more courteous."

Shizuru sighed. "Well, here's your breakfast. Eat up and get to work little brother."

* * *

The spring breeze was cool and comforting. Keiko walked through the village, on her way to master Genkai's estate. The estate lied just outside the village, with a small pass lined with talismans that would keep out all but the strongest demons, and they'd never bother with such a small, out-of-the-wall village as hers. Her world was quite a strange one. While the humans were supposedly ruled by other humans, everyone knew that the demons held the true power in this country. King Raizen had come into power about 700 years ago, and had remained on the demonic throne ever since. While it was true that Raizen had reigned in most demons, in such far-removed villages as hers, demon raids were still a danger.

The sight of Genkai's estate snapped her out of such thoughts. As she entered, she was immediately greeted by her best friend, Botan, who sprung into a flurry of speech when she caught sight of Keiko. Botan was Genkai's adopted granddaughter. Genkai hand found her as an orphan in some village far from Keiko's and took her in once she learned that Botan had an unusually strong connection to the spirits of the deceased. Ever since, Genkai had been training her as a psychic, and often had her help lost spirits, both those of the village or those that wondered into the village, find peace and pass on to the afterlife.

"…and I tell you, Keiko have you been listening to me?" Botan pulled Keiko out of her thoughts.

"Oh, sorry Botan, I guess I kinda zoned out. What were you saying?"

"I was asking you, why did you turn him down? That boy's the handsomest in the entire village, smart too, and you just flat-out said no! You didn't even give him a chance!"

"He just wasn't the one Botan."

"Oh give me a break Keiko. You've said that about every guy you've ever met except… Wait, could it be that you like Kuwabara?"

"What? No! Botan, he's a friend, but trust me, I don't think about him that way."

"Well, if not him then who? Wait, are you a-"

"No Botan, I'm not a lesbian. How many times are we going to go over this? No one I've met is right for me. I just know."

"Oh really? Well I just know that if you keep turning down everyone who even remotely shows interest in you, you'll never get to know anyone well enough to know whether they're Mr. Right."

"Botan-"

"Enough!" The two friends turned to see Genkai enter the room. A short, old woman with faded pink hair, Genkai was far more than her stature suggested. She was still one of the most powerful psychics in the entire world. In her prime, before she had moved to the village, she had been the greatest demon hunter in the entire country. "Botan, can't you leave Keiko's love life alone for one minute? She'll take a husband when she finds a man she loves. Besides, shouldn't you be practicing? As for you," she turned to Keiko, "I won't be continuing your education today. I need you to go down and check on Atsuko. She's on one of her streaks."

Keiko sighed. Atsuko was the local drunk. While Most of the time she was pleasant to be around, she could get out of hand if somebody didn't keep an eye on her. Keiko remembered when Atsuko first arrived in the village; she did nothing but drink sake for a whole week straight. When she ran out she went around asking everyone for their sake. Though no one could really find it in their heart to blame he. Atsuko was the only survivor of a village that was massacred by demons a mere four years ago. She even lost her son in the attack. But even if Keiko felt sorry for her, it was still a chore to have to check up on the drunk. If Atsuko was on a drinking streak, it meant that she was probably so drowned in sorrow about the past that she could get drunk enough to hurt anyone or anything that happened to cross her path. Keiko's thoughts were interrupted as the door behind her creaked open. She turned to see a boy her own age with long red hair walk through.

The boy greeted them. "Oh, hello Keiko, Botan, Master Genkai. I do hope I'm not interrupting."

Shuichi Minamino. Well, that's how most of the village knew him. But Keiko, Botan, Genkai, Kuwabara, and Shizuru knew that he was really the fox demon Yoko Kurama. Or rather, he used to be. Upon being mortally wounded by a demon hunter sixteen years ago, he projected his spirit and sent it into the body of a newborn child before the child had fully developed a soul. He admitted to initially planning to kill his human mother once he grew strong enough to survive on his own.

While he initially planed to kill his human mother once he grew strong enough to survive on his own, as a human he learned what love and kindness truly are, something he had forgotten as a demon thief. He took this lesson to heart. Now he was a dedicated member of the village, serving along with Kuwabara and Genkai as its protectors. Though, truth be told, he feared what his fate would be if the other villagers ever learn the truth of his past, which is why his friends swore to carry his secret to their deaths.

Genkai answered him. "Not at all Kurama. Keiko was just on her way out and Botan was about to resume practicing."

"Well, in that case I have a message from my mother."

Keiko left. She knew this conversation wasn't one she had any right to eavesdrop on, though Botan would probably tell her all about it later. The check-up on Atsuko was droll. She was just lying in her house, practically drowning herself in sake. The only eventful part of the day was when she began muttering about her son. It was rare for her to ever talk about him, so whenever she did, everyone within earshot tried to listen in, despite the fact that she only ever talked about him while crying.

"Why? He was such a good boy," she sobbed. "He didn't deserve to be killed like that. Why couldn't they have just left him alone? Why? Sure, he may have had a mischievous streak, but it's not like he killed anybody. Why, damn it why?"

Keiko sighed. She had been hoping for something new, but she just got the same story she usually got whenever she got the opportunity to listen to Atsuko's cries. At least, she thought it was the same, but at the very end Atsuko muttered something Keiko had never heard before.

"Yusuke, why couldn't you stay with me?"

Yusuke? Could that be it? Could Yusuke be the name of her son? This was big. No one had even gotten Atsuko's family name out of her, let alone the name of her son. She knew she really shouldn't, but she decided to borrow a page from Botan's book and ask anyway. "Um Atsuko, was Yusuke your son? The one that was killed in the attack?"

Atsuko startled, seeming to only just realize that she had an audience. "Yeah. He was a good kid. How old is he now? Yeah, he's about your age."

Keiko didn't usually get sad about anything. But at the sight of Atsuko, poor, drunk Atsuko, talking about her son like he was still alive, her vision became so blurry; she had to wipe away the tears just to see straight.

"You know Keiko, it may just be the alcohol talking, but I swear I met you before I came to this village. Did you ever visit the old battlefield?"

Keiko stiffened. The old battlefield was the sight of the last battle between two ancient clans. It's said that the two clans wiped each other out, and that their spirits still haunted the battlefield, forever perpetuating their ancient struggle. The weird thing was Keiko _had _visited it.

"Yeah, I did. About nine years ago. Why?"

"I remember, I let Yusuke run off to go play, and I saw him meet a little girl his same age. They ran around chasing each other until her parents called her away. Was that you?"

Any response Keiko might have given was busy choking her. She covered her mouth, tears welling up in her eyes. It all came back. That _had_ been her. She remembered asking her parents if she could play with him again someday. She remembered wondering what became of him. Though thoughts of the boy had drifted out of her mind as the years passed, but now, after so many years, now she remembered, though she would have rather remained blissfully ignorant to this truth. The boy, Yusuke, was dead, murdered by those monsters. Cool and wet, the tears trickled down her face.


	2. Chapter 2

Again the warm sun woke Keiko. Again she resumed her routine life in the village. Again, she continued her education under Genkai. Again, she felt like her life was missing something. Her friends had noticed a change in her ever since she left Atsuko that day. When they confronted her about it, she told them about Yusuke. They were stunned, to say the least. Even though they cared about her, they could only helplessly stand by her as she found her own way of coping with this revelation. And cope she did. Keiko knew she would never be able to forget Yusuke, but she would remind herself that he wasn't a part of her life anymore. She had lived without him for nine years; she could live without him now. After all, crying for a boy she had only met once wasn't going to change anything. A week passed, and Keiko had almost completely put the issue behind her.

It was dusk, the sun's rays beginning to disappear behind the horizon, the shroud of night falling over the village. Keiko, Kurama, Botan, Shizuru, and Kuwabara were gathered around a fire, telling jokes and stories and the like.

"Man," Kuwabara breathed, "can you guys believe it? Only three years ago we were giving up all our food and money to the Saint Beasts. Now look at us, sitting around without a care in the world."

His friends agreed. The Four Saint Beasts had been a group of powerful demons that had, five years ago, taken up residence just beyond the mountains that could be seen in the distance. From their so-called Maze Castle, the Saint Beasts had gathered a small army of rogue demons to pillage the nearby villages, demanding offerings of food and money once about every six months in return for not destroying them. It was pure suffering for the villages, every family in danger of starving to death but unable to do anything to break free of their newfound servitude. Given that Raizen's forces had virtually no presence in the area, and no samurai could even come close to defeating the Four Saint Beasts, the village seemed like it could simply die of despair. Then, three-and-half years ago, a spark of hope emerged in Keiko's village. That was when Genkai and Botan moved to the village. Upon learning of the village's suffering, Genkai agreed to train Kuwabara to control his spirit energy in order to fight the Saint Beasts. It was also Genkai who had first realized Kurama's true nature, but it was obvious to her that his caring and kind nature was not just an act. The rest of them, Shizuru, Kuwabara, and Keiko, they needed a good, long explanation. After it was given, and his friends accepted him for whom he was, he too trained under Genkai. Despite now having two students, Genkai was still rather disappointed. Even though he possessed incredible potential, Kuwabara's spirit energy took on a form so different from her own that she was unable to pass on her most powerful technique, the spirit wave, to him. She could only teach him the basics of controlling his spirit energy and forming it into a weapon, in Kuwabara's case, the Spirit Sword. As for Kurama, his specialty was summoning and controlling demonic plants, so he too was unable to learn the spirit wave.

This unfortunate circumstance didn't deter them. For six months they trained, hard, grueling training that set their muscles ablaze with pain and fatigue. But by the end of it, they were ready. Ready to take the fight to the Beasts themselves. It was then that irony struck. Mere days before they were to head into battle, a message reached the village. The Four Saint Beasts had been killed. And to add to the mystery, it was around that same time that demon activity in the forest had begun to ebb considerably.

Shizuru sighed. "I still wonder who did it. Must've been someone pretty powerful."

"I heard it was none other than Raizen's very own heir." Botan, ever the source of gossip. "He was sent so that Raizen could remind all the other demons who their king is. In other words, he wanted to make an example out of the Saint Beasts."

"I too, have heard that rumor," Kurama interjected, "but it remains unfounded. If Raizen had taken a wife, let alone produced an heir, it would be the news of the country."

"Yeah Botan, really. What I heard was much more realistic." It would appear that Kuwabara was using Kurama's intellect as a springboard for his own rumor. "I heard it was a band of demons out to steal Maze Castle's treasure. I mean, that's gotta be what happened right? After it wasn't just the Saint Beasts, but almost all of their army was killed as well. No way anyone could do all that alone."

Kurama shook his head. "Kuwabara, while your theory is indeed much more likely, it is still mere speculation."

Kuwabara seemed to take this as challenge. "Oh really Kurama, so what do you think it was?" Shizuru slapped him over the head. He had just used Kurama's demon name inside the village where others might overhear. What would Kurama do then? "What? Oh right, sorry. I mean Shuichi, what do you think it was?"

"I don't really know myself. But I can tell you this: Raizen himself could have destroyed the entirety of Maze Castle by himself if he so chose. If he did have an heir, it wouldn't be too much of a stretch of the imagination to believe this heir was capable of doing the same. But here we lack motive. What could killing the Saint Beasts possibly accomplish? There are but two answers: wealth and status. The heir of Raizen would need neither of these. And while a group may have been after the wealth, there are much easier ways to steal it than to massacre of almost everyone in Maze Castle." Here, Kurama was the expert. As a demon he had been one of the most legendary bandits of all time. "No, it must have been status. But that begs the question: why haven't the killers made a name for themselves since?"

Keiko had been thinking the same thing. And as she pondered this question, an idea hit her, an idea whose origin could be traced back to last week when another would-be suitor attempted to woo her by performing an original song on his flute. "Maybe they were just trying to impress somebody." The group turned to look at her. While other girls may have become shy under the cold, judging stares of her peers, Keiko welcomed the chance to show off her intellect. "I mean, think about it. If they didn't do it for wealth, but didn't let the world know about the fact that they were the ones who killed the Saint Beasts, they must've been doing it for a specific person right?"

Kurama seemed to take in this new idea with great interest. "Doing if for someone else? I can't believe that idea never crossed my mind; though I'm skeptical that impressing a single being was the motive." Keiko didn't let her annoyance show. There was only one thing about Kurama that got on her nerves, and that was the fact that he seemed to need to make a counterargument to anything anyone said, just to make sure he considered every possibility. At least she could take some pride in the fact that she had thought of something even he hadn't thought of before. "It's more likely that a group of mercenaries were hired by some-"

Suddenly Kurama, Shizuru, and Kuwabara all went stiff. As one, they all turned north. Keiko hadn't seen them act like this since… "Guys, what's going on?"

In unison, voices hushed, they answered with one word. And that one word sent a chill of fear up the spines of both Keiko and Botan, a fear Keiko had thought she'd never feel again. "Demons."


	3. Chapter 3

Demons. For Keiko, that word filled her with an otherworldly fear that both froze her in place and screamed at her to run as far away as possible. It was a word that brought back memories of a time of where the village simply slaved away for the Saint Beasts. And it was a word that reminded her of Atsuko, and the fate that befell both her son and her village. However, she refused to let the fear take control of her. Within seconds she had grabbed Botan and was racing with her to alert Master Genkai. Shizuru went to warn the rest of the village, while Kuwabara and Kurama moved to face the demons in battle. It would be the first real test of their training. She and Botan ran, their legs burning like the fire they had just left behind, praying to make it to the warded path to the estate without incident. Their prayers went unanswered.

Just as the path came into view, Keiko heard Botan scream, "LOOK OUT!" as she tackled Keiko to the ground. Just in time too, as a pair of demons, horned and fanged, with tongues like a snake's and claws that gleamed with murderous intent flashed in the night, leaped out of the forest at the space where the two girls had just been, landing a few meters away.

"Well, well," one of hissed, "it looks like we've found us a most beautifully prepared meal, brother."

"I agree," growled the other, "they will make a fine feast. And look, one for each of us, so we won't have to worry about where to rip them in half in order to share."

The two girls bolted for the path. The demons took a few seconds to laugh at their prey, and then gave chase. In mere seconds, Keiko knew, she and Botan would become demon chow. Her thoughts raced at light speed, desperately searching to find a way she save them, or at least save Botan. She could only think of one. Just before the terrible claws gripped them, Keiko spun around, took her shoe and struck them each in the face. Botan gasped, the Demons clutched their noses.

"You'll pay for that, wench!" Keiko was already running towards the forest, having discarded her shoes, yelling at Botan to flee to the path. The blue-haired girl complied, tears streaming from her eyes like waterfalls.

One of the demons saw this. "Hey brother! The other one's getting away!"" The demons stopped their pursuit of Keiko, reminded that there was another girl they had hoped to eat, only to see Botan make it passed the first wards.

"Damn! Forget her, she's already inside that barrier of spirit energy. We'd never be able to break through that." With that, they resumed the hunt for the human girl who had dared to raise a hand against them.

Botan had seen this. Seen them stop while Keiko kept running. The sight gave her a small, small hope, like that of an insect hoping the boot above it lands somewhere else, that Keiko might be able to elude them long enough for Botan to find her grandmother. Then they could mount a rescue mission. Yes, they'd save Keiko. All Botan had to do was run.

* * *

Thanks to their training, Kuwabara and Kurama were able to finish off the other demons fairly quickly. The first thing they did after checking how many villagers had been hurt, by some miracle they had arrived in time to prevent anyone from being killed, was run to Genkai's estate to make sure Keiko and Botan had made it there safely.

"Hey Kurama, did you feel anything from back this way while we were fighting?"

"Indeed. I believe it was the energy of several weak demons, perhaps even weaker than the ones we were fighting. But even so, they'd still be able to easily overpower Keiko and Botan."

"If anything happened to them I swear, I'll hunt down those demons and kill 'em, even if it's the last thing I do."

It was then they saw Genkai and Botan running out of the warded path. Keiko wasn't with them. Something was wrong. Upon learning what had transpired, the two fighters felt like something had knocked the wind out of them. They had failed to protect their friends. What good was all their training if they let something like this happen? Still, they didn't allow their despair to stop them. The group of four set out into the forest, intent on searching every tree, rock, and crevice until they found Keiko. Initially, they followed Kurama's inhuman sense of smell in hopes that it would be able lead them straight to her. Then, right in the middle of their search, it suddenly disappeared.

"What? Where'd it go?" Kuwabara was livid. "Damn it Kurama, what are we gonna do now?"

Kurama didn't let Kuwabara's rage affect his own thought process. He looked around; sure that there must be some clue as to what happened. They couldn't be too far behind Keiko. Then he saw it, a river. "Look at that. Perhaps she dove into it in order to help her hide her sent."

Kuwabara clearly wasn't sold. "Why? What good would that do?"

"It was probably a reflex; that's how we teach children to flee from wolves after all."

"Well, yeah maybe, but Keiko's smart. There's no way she'd use something to protect her from wolves when demons were chasing her."

"Don't be so sure. Logic is panic's prey after all. Either way we should check the other side, it may yield some clue as to her whereabouts."

Check they did. The other side was muddy; they could feel their feet sink ever so slightly with every step they took. But his was terrain was like a God-sent miracle; they found footprints. Fresh, human footprints. It didn't matter that there were two sets of clawed footprints there as well; now they had a trail to follow. They knew Keiko had at least made it this far.

With renewed spirits, the group followed the trail for several minutes. But their hopes were torn and scattered in the wind as the ground became firmer, and trail ran cold.

"No!" Kuwabara's words were drowned in tears. "Damn it! What are supposed to do now?"

Even Kurama was left without an answer. Botan fell to the ground, sobbing. Genkai however, didn't falter. She searched the area, searching for any sign that would lead them to Keiko. The darkness made traditional sight difficult and her spiritual awareness wouldn't help her find anything that wasn't alive. Suddenly, she felt her foot kick against something. Whatever it was, it rolled. Genkai knelt down to get a better look. What she saw surprised her, and she wasn't surprised by much these days. It was the head of a demon. Not just one, there was another right next to it. She brought them to the others.

"Botan, do these look like the demons that attacked you?"

Botan looked up, wiped the tears from her eyes, and examined them. She couldn't believe it, they were.

"Look," Genkai showed them the necks. "The blood is still wet. This was a recent kill."

"Okay, so the demons are dead." Kuwabara was clearly having trouble fighting back the tears. "But that still doesn't tell us where Keiko is."

Kurama put his hand on Kuwabara's shoulder. "I'm afraid it does."

"Huh? What are you talking about? We've got no idea where she is."

"No, we do. Something killed these demons. And I doubt it would just let Keiko go. Wherever the thing is that killed these demons, that's where Keiko is. And I don't see any way for us to track it."

"How do we know that? What if it did leave her alone? What if she's still out here, alone and lost? We have to keep looking."

Genkai interjected, knowing that the last thing they needed was for Kuwabara to lose his cool. "We will, but if we don't find her by sunrise, we'll have to assume she's been taken by whatever killed these demons. We'll just have to hope that it's friendly. Kurama, is there any way you could track this thing? Maybe search for a fresh sent that doesn't match Keiko's or either of these demons?"

"Oh yes. In my grief I had completely forgotten about that." Kurama took a deep breath, then sniffed at the air around him. "I'm afraid it's no use," he sighed, a sigh that spoke of defeat and despair. "Whatever took her has been roaming all over these woods. I'll never be able to pin down any specific trail."

"Well that's just great!" Kuwabara was not a fan of having his hopes dashed. "Thanks for nothing, fox-boy!"

It was this that brought Botan out of her stupor. "Stop it Kuwabara! We're all doing our best to find Keiko! Kurama's just as frustrated as any of us, so don't go yelling at him! That's the last thing he needs."

Genkai shook her head at the sight before her: Kurama looking forlorn, Botan screaming, and Kuwabara about to burst into a tear-filled rage. "If only…"

The three suddenly dropped everything and looked at her. "If only what, grandmother?"

Genkai sighed; these kids weren't the kind to let a slip of the tongue go unnoticed, her granddaughter especially. "If only that boy had finished his training."

Kurama's interest was piqued. "Boy? What boy are you talking about Master?"

"Botan and I never told you this, but I did have one student before the two of you." She told them of the boy, he had never given his name, who had come to her, four years ago, seeking to train. He had power, but it was untamed, uncontrolled. In all but personality, he was the perfect student. Unlike Kuwabara or Kurama, he was fully capable of learning the spirit wave and all the lesser techniques Genkai had to teach. First he had learned the Spirit Gun, a basic, yet effective technique, easily capable of killing or defeating most demons with a single shot. Next came the Spirit Shotgun, a weaker version of the Spirit Gun but designed to defeat multiple opponents at once. However, in spite of his great power and determination, the boy was hard-pressed to put his full effort into the training. It took him three months just to learn those two techniques, and the first month was just getting him to give it his all. And after two more weeks, in the middle of learning the Spirit Wave itself, he quit. He never said why, but he was courteous enough to mutter a few words of thanks before departing.

"So this guy just up and left?" Kuwabara was practically in shock. "Why? From the sound of things he was doing great."

Genkai gave a soft groan of annoyance. She hated it when people didn't pay attention, especially if they were her students. "I already told you, he didn't say why, and I didn't ask. It really was a shame though; his raw power and potential were incredible. If he's been training, which he probably hasn't given how half-assed he trained under me, he'd be at least as strong as the two of you combined."

The students' eyes went wide, the magnitude of what their teacher had just said falling on them like a sumo wrestler. "I see," Kurama was the first to remember how to talk, "if such a man had been with us, this situation could have been avoided entirely. Not to mention the fact that the village would have been much more secure."

"Yes, maybe." an unusual uneasiness filled Genkai's words. "Assuming training him in the first place wasn't a mistake." Before any of the young ones around her could ask the obvious question, she answered them. "While the boy did his best to hide it, and he did a very good job, I sensed a small amount of demon energy emitting from behind his spirit energy. The boy was a half-breed."

This was the most shocking news yet. Half-breeds were virtually unheard of, to the point that centuries could go by without a single one being born. The reason for this was obvious: most demons were too proud to ever mate with humans, and what human in their right mind would ever choose to get in bed with one of those monsters? Not to mention the fact that half-breeds grow up hated by everyone around them, human and demon alike.

"Come on, snap out of it you three. We've wasted enough time as it is." With that the group went back to searching, though Genkai's story remained etched in their brains, and would occupy their thoughts for days to come.

Sunrise came, and they returned to the village empty handed.


	4. Chapter 4

Keiko was running, running so fast it felt as though here feet never met the ground, like she was flying. But she knew she hadn't escaped. She knew they were still following her, still hungry for her flesh. She kept looking, looking for something, anything, that would let her escape. Then she saw it, the river. If she could swim to the other side before they saw her, she might have a chance. Maybe they'd just keep running in the same direction. Maybe they'd be unable to track her if she lost her sent. Either way, she knew she was doomed if she just kept running. Checking behind her to make sure they hadn't caught up with her yet, she turned and dove in. She emerged on the other side soaked, water falling from her like rain. She couldn't care less about the muddy ground, didn't even notice it. She ducked behind a tree, her breath coming in gasps. Then she heard them, the demons. She peeked around the tree, fear locking her in place, preventing her from even breathing.

"Damn, how long can that wench run for?"

"No human can run like that forever, we'll catch her soon enough. Then brother, then we will at last feast upon human flesh again instead of the mangy beasts that roam these woods. Come on, we can't let her get away!"

"Wait." The demon stayed his brother, sniffing the air. "Her sent is gone." Keiko allowed herself to breathe again; it had worked. "It must have been the river! She's trying to escape on the other side!"

It was a nightmare. No matter what she tried, the demons caught on. Forcing her legs, as heavy as boulders, to move, she began running again. But it was no use, her strength was gone. They were upon her in mere minutes. She dropped to the ground, defeated. She was going to die. Die like Yusuke, the boy she had met so long ago, nothing but a feast for the monsters. She turned away, only seeing the demons out of the corners of her eyes. Then, out of nowhere, their bodies vanished. No, it was more like they exploded without any noise, each piece breaking up into nothing, leaving only two bloody heads to fall to the ground. Had Keiko been spiritually endowed like her friends, she would have seen a large blast of red energy obliterate the bodies.

Terrified and confused she looked around. Far to her left stood a figure. The figure lowered its arms and approached her, walking slowly, calmly, as though taking a simple midday stroll. Soon it was close enough for Keiko to make out its features. Her eyes went wide. It was boy, a human boy. He looked about her age, with short black hair, dressed in a white karate uniform. Keiko wasn't sure whether to be relieved or worried that this stranger had come to her rescue, and she was too exhausted give it anymore thought.

"You okay?" The boy was talking to her. She forced herself to pay attention, even if it felt harder than uprooting a tree.

"Yeah," it was more like a breath with sound than a word.

"You should be more careful, this place really isn't safe for your kind. How'd you end up getting chased by those two anyway?"

She ignored the question. "My kind? What do you mean?"

"Oh, yeah it's probably hard to tell just by looking at me. I'm a demon."

Keiko immediately snapped back into panic mode. If this boy was a demon, what did he want? And more importantly, how could she escape? But try as she might, she was far too tired to think of an answer to either of these questions. The boy noticed her change in demeanor, and laughed. Was he actually enjoying her terror?

"Relax sweetheart. If I wanted to hurt you I'd have done it already." He smiled, gesturing to himself. "Trust me; I'm one of the good guys."

Did he expect her to believe him just like that? Still, he did make a good point. And if he really wanted to hurt her, he wouldn't have just admitted to being a demon. Besides, what did she have to lose by talking?

"Now then, you gonna talk or just sit there looking pretty? Well, pretty wet and dirty that is." He chuckled at his own joke, a small, light-hearted chuckle. The kind that, for some reason, made Keiko want to slap him.

"Very funny. If you must know, I was leading those two demons away from my friend."

"Well," the demon boy seemed impressed, "that was pretty brave of you. But it's time to get serious. Do you know how to get back home, or am I stuck with you?"

Keiko started. It just hit her; she had no idea where she was. She didn't even know what way she had run to get here; she had taken too many turns in her escape attempt to even have a remote idea of where she was. She had been so focused on making sure Botan got to safety, she hadn't even thought of what would happen to her after she escaped. She could stay here and hope her friends would find her, but what were the chances of that?

"I'll take that as a no. Well, that settles it you're coming with me."

Keiko just stared at him. "What? Why should I?"

"Well it's either come with me, where you'll be safe, or stay here and wait to get eaten. And trust me; with all this meat on you," he poked her chest to help explain himself, "you're like a three-course-"

Keiko didn't think, she reacted. And that reaction was to slap his face so hard that his head did a pretty good impression of an owl's. It was only after the fact that she realized she had just hit someone who held her entire life in his hands. But there was no way she was going to apologize. She didn't let anyone get away with something like that.

The demon boy raised a hand to his cheek, looking at her. Was he going to kill her now? No, he didn't look angry. More like surprised, incredulous even. Then, he laughed. "Man, that actually hurt. You're not a softy I'll give you that."

He was impressed with her? This demon was definitely not normal. Could she really trust him? He was a demon after all. Then she remembered that one of her best friends was a demon. A feeling of guilt wallowed up inside her; if she could give Kurama a chance, shouldn't she do the same for this boy? Besides, he was right. What choice did she have? She got up and looked him square in the eye, determined not to show any more weakness around him.

"Fine, I guess I'll accompany you." Just then, a thought struck her. They hadn't even introduced themselves yet. "I'm Keiko. Keiko Yukimura." She extended her hand; hoping this demon knew what a handshake was. He did.

"You can call me Yusuke Urameshi."

Keiko froze. Yusuke? Was kind of cruel joke was this? This demon boy just happened to have the same name as the boy she met as a child? The boy who had been killed by demons?

"Hey Keiko, you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost."

* * *

**Author's Note:** If any of you are wondering, Yusuke's outfit is supposed to be the same one from the Three Kings saga (you know, the one he wore while training and when he fought Yomi).


	5. Chapter 5

"Hey Keiko, you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost."

Keiko snapped out of her shock. So what if this guy had the same name has that boy? Plenty of people share names, it didn't mean they hand anything to do with each other. Still, she had to say something, so she might as well tell this guy the truth. For some reason, she felt she could trust him.

"Yeah, it's just, you see, there's this woman in my village. Atsuko, she's the local drunkard. Always drinking. But you see, she lost her son, well her whole village actually, to a demon attack. Her son had the same name as you. It just took me by surprise is all."

Yusuke seemed taken aback by this. In fact, the revelation seemed to unnerve him. Of course, hearing that someone whose name you share was murdered by your own kind probably wasn't the easiest thing to take in.

"Well, that is weird. I'm uh, I'm sorry if my name's bringing up any bad memories."

"Oh no, not all." She couldn't just let him feel all guilty about his name like that. It wasn't his fault after all.

"Well, then we'd better get moving." Yusuke turned around, heading deeper into the forest. Keiko followed.

"Um, where exactly are we going anyway?"

"Who knows?" Keiko stopped mid-step. Did he really just say that? "We'll probably run across a human village sooner or later. Then I can drop you off and you can find a way back to your village."

"And if we don't find a village?"

"Well, then I guess I get to keep you." That earned him his second slap of the night.

* * *

The days were long now, and still routine. Keiko would wake up at dawn, Yusuke would ask how she had slept, and she'd say she was fine. They'd spend the day wondering around the forest. Every day Yusuke would nap for two hours and Keiko would keep watch, waking him if she heard anything that could mean trouble. It amazed her that he could get by with only two hours of sleep a day. True enough, he had bragged that he could run for three days straight without even getting tired. Keiko's only response had been to raise an eyebrow. About halfway into the day Yusuke would kill some animal for them to eat. At first Keiko would look away and he would tease her for being such a wimp, but eventually she grew bold enough to watch the kill, accepting that this was a part of her life now. At some point Yusuke would tease her in a sexual fashion, be it with words or by touching her inappropriately, and Keiko would slap him for it. He never seemed to get mad at this, he'd just laugh it off and they'd continue on with their day.

Twice they came across a demon. The first was smart enough to not only sense that Yusuke was a demon, but to sense that Yusuke was powerful enough to tear it limb from limb without breaking a sweat. It mad the wise decision and ran for its life. The second however, was not so intelligent. It mistook them both for humans and tried to eat them, going after Keiko first. Not three seconds later, Yusuke sent its head flying with a single punch, while its body dropped limply to the ground. Other than that, the days went on without incident.

A week passed. Still, Keiko didn't complain once. Sure her life was harder, she was lost, and she didn't know if she'd ever get home, but something just clicked with her, like her life was somehow more complete than it had been before. Keiko just couldn't place her finger on what. True enough, she took pleasure in Yusuke's company. In spite of his antics, as she chose to call them, and his obvious skill in fighting, he held a gentle soul. She enjoyed his company, and recently she had caught herself staring at him as they walked. She didn't know what this meant, but she did know that the minute they found her village, she would never see him again. Her life would just go back to being the way it had been, incomplete. That was why she didn't complain, because she wanted to make the time they had left together as enjoyable as possible.

"Hey look!" Yusuke's voice snapped her out of her muse. She looked up to see that they'd reached the end of the forest, and before them stood a mountain. Keiko knew of only one mountain anywhere near her village, the one at whose base the Saint Beasts had built Maze Castle.

"Oh great," Keiko moaned. "Well, at least now I know the direction of my village."

"Really?"

"Yep," she gestured behind her, "that way. I mean seriously, we can barely even see the mountain tops from my village."

"Well, at least now we have an idea of where to go. Still, we can't just walk backwards and hope to find your village on the way." Apparently his solution was to just stand there, hand on his chin, until inspiration hit. "I bet if we climbed this mountain we could find a road or something to follow. Then it'd be a piece of cake getting you back to your village. I mean look, there's even a path up the mountain. What more could we ask for?"

Keiko had to admit, it wasn't a bad plan. Certainly it was better than just wondering around hoping to stumble upon a village, though she wondered if the path would be high enough to find anything, or if it was wooded so far up that by the time they could finally look down, they'd be too high up to make out anything below.

After about half an hour of walking, the path finally became devoid of trees. They looked out around them and saw…nothing. No road, no villages, just forest. Keiko sighed and dropped to the ground, exhausted from the day's trek. Not to mention they had yet to eat. They were lost, alone, with only a direction to go on; Keiko didn't see herself going home anytime soon. Everyone in the village probably thought she was dead. Well, at least she'd have a good story to tell her grandchildren, that is, if she ever met a man she liked. Sure she was friends with Kuwabara and Kurama, but she couldn't imagine marrying either of them. Just the thought of it seemed weird. And the only other boy she was close to was Yusuke here and she didn't even know anything about him.

Then it hit her, she didn't know anything about the boy who saved her life, who was going out of his way to help her find her way back home. Well, it was clear he didn't live in this forest; he was just as lost as she was after all. Why was he even here in the first place?

Yusuke himself was busy looking around them, still searching for any sign of a road. "Maybe we'll see it if we get to the other side of the mountain."

The other side? Keiko didn't think she could walk another two meters. Well, she needed rest and wanted to learn more about him, so this seemed like the perfect opportunity to start asking Yusuke about himself.

"Say, Yusuke? Why are you here anyway? It's obvious you don't live in this forest."

Yusuke was surprised at the question, but he guessed he should have seen it coming. "Well, it's long story. I guess the short version is that my old man was really starting to piss me off, even more than he usually does, so I decided I needed a break from him."

"You're saying you ran away from home?" Keiko couldn't believe it. It sounded like something a little kid, a little _human_ kid, would do. She had never even thought about whether-or-not demons even had parents before (though in retrospect the answer was obvious), never mind a demon running away from home because he was mad at his parents. She couldn't help it, the thought made her burst out laughing.

"Hey, what's so funny?"

"I'm sorry, it's just that I never would have," she saw him stiffen and turn around. Was something the matter? What could be so dangerous as to worry someone as strong as him? "Yusuke, what's wrong?"

Just then a bird, larger than four human adults, flew out from behind the mountain. On top of it stood a small man, sporting black hair with white streaks that stood up from his head. He was dressed in all black, a sword at his waist. But the most distinguishing feature was the fact that he had three eyes.

"Hiei! What the hell? You said it you wouldn't use your eye to come looking for me!" Well, it was clear Yusuke knew this man. At least they weren't in any danger, she hoped.

"I never promised anything." Hiei's tone was flat, lacking emotion. "Besides, things were getting boring with only the others around to train with. Though I must admit, I never thought that I'd find you with a human. Is she your new pet or something?"

Pet? Just who did this guy think he was? Before Keiko could yell at him however, three more beings appeared, swift as ninjas. The three new comers all had the appearance of Buddhist monks, and they all seemed very displeased.

"Your highness!" yelled the foremost of the three. Wait, what did this monk just call Yusuke? "What were you thinking running off like that? We've been scouring the countryside for almost two weeks looking for you! We probably would have taken even longer if we hadn't noticed Pu and Hiei flying through the sky!"

Yusuke was clearly annoyed. "Would you buzz off Hokushin? I don't need you, or my father, to tell me what I can and can't do."

Keiko froze. Hokushin? As in the general of Raizen's army? The demon whose word was second only to that of Raizen himself? How did he know Yusuke? And why did he call him "your highness"? Just what in the world was she looking at?

"Your highness please, must you be so difficult? At least inform us of where you intend to go before just running off."

"Yusuke," Keiko interrupted, "just what is going on here?"

Everyone seemed startled by her interruption, well everyone except Hiei, who seemed bored out of his mind. Hokushin, apparently only just realizing she was there, began to question Yusuke about who she was and what he had been doing, almost like a parent reprimanding their child for staying out too late.

"Would you chill out already? If you must know, this is Keiko. She's lost, and I'm helping her find her village." Hiei scoffed at this. "Keiko, these guys are Hokushin, Touou, and Seitei. Mr. Personality up there is Hiei. And the big bird is Pu; I guess you could sort of call him my inner self."

Keiko was as dazed as she'd ever bee in her life. Still, she wasn't one to forget her manners. "It's a pleasure to meet you all," Keiko bowed in greeting. "But I have to ask, are you the same Hokushin as Raizen's second-in-command?"

Hokushin nodded. "Indeed I am. It is a pleasure to make your acutance." Well, he was definitely politer than Yusuke. It still didn't answer the real question here.

"In that case, why were you talking to Yusuke like he was royalty? Is he, I mean, is he really…?"

Yusuke sighed. "Looks like I've got some explaining to do. Well, to start things off, I'm Raizen's son."


	6. Chapter 6

Keiko still couldn't believe it. Yusuke was a demon prince. Even here, in the demon capital, she found it hard to believe. After Yusuke's revelation, he had refused to answer any more questions about his past. Instead he went about asking if anyone knew where Keiko's village was. Hiei didn't want to be bothered with finding her village and Hokushin didn't have a clue himself, but he still demanded that Yusuke return to the capital, regardless of Keiko's fate. Yusuke decided he'd just have to bring her along with them.

At first Hiei, Hokushin, and the others had been against such an action; the high concentration of demon energy would surely be too much for an average human like herself to bear. She'd probably collapse or even die in only a few minutes. Only a spiritual barrier could protect her from the miasma, and Keiko wasn't in any way skilled in the spiritual arts. It was then Yusuke revealed, well revealed to her at least, that he was a half-breed. Kurama had told her of just how rare, and how hated, half-breeds were. For the heir of Raizen himself to be a half-breed, Keiko was left even more speechless than before. Though this did shed light on why no one knew about Yusuke; apparently he hadn't even met his father until only a few years ago. While Yusuke and the others refused to share anything more with her, they did come up with a solution to her dilemma. With Yusuke being a half-breed, and with Pu being a physical manifestation of his inner self, both of them could use spirit energy in addition to demon energy. As such, they were both capable of using spirit energy to form a barrier around Keiko, though they would have to find her a more permanent solution once they reached the capital.

And here she was, working on that permanent solution now. She was sitting in a room, in Raizen's own castle no less, with Pu standing protecting her. It was very convenient that Pu was able to change his form, from that of a giant blue phoenix to something akin to a blue baby penguin with long ears, but Keiko wasn't one to look a gift horse in the mouth. She knew full well it would probably take a the demons a long time to find out where exactly her village was, especially considering that only a single demon was looking into it. Hiei still refused to use his Jagan Eye to find her village, saying, "I'm not some compass that you can use to find your way whenever you get lost only to toss it aside when you no longer need it." So she decided to make the best of her time here in the demon capital.

"There, it's done." Keiko had been working on creating talismans to put around her room so as to create a barrier for her while she slept. Genkai had shown her how to make them as a part of her education. Though it didn't escape Keiko's notice that while the talismans were to relieve Pu of the burden of protecting her, he didn't seem to mind her company. On the contrary, he seemed to enjoy spending time with her. Given that Pu was Yusuke's own inner self, she wondered if that meant he felt the same way.

She shook her head; now wasn't the time to be thinking like that. She had Pu fill the talismans with his spirit energy. With any luck these would last long enough for her village to be found. If not, she would have to have their energy refilled, and imposing like that just didn't sit right with her.

"Pu!"

Keiko thought it was adorable that Pu had been named after the only sound he ever made. Honestly, if this was Yusuke's inner self, why did he always act so brazenly? And more importantly, why did he always seem so uncomfortable talking about his past?

"Pu!"

Keiko smiled, "Well I guess I could always just weasel it out of you."

* * *

Yusuke was angry, that much was obvious. He had gone to talk with his father after they had arrived, and whatever had gone down between them wasn't pleasant. Keiko knew it wouldn't be a good idea to ask, but she did think she had a right to know where he was taking her, and why. She just hoped the two weren't related.

"So Yusuke, where are we going?"

Yusuke glared at her. "If you must know, I'm taking you to meet my friends."

Luckily, these friends were quite different from Hiei. First there was Rinku, a child demon who could control yo-yos, and Chu, whose drinking rivaled even that of Atsuko, though Yusuke told her that Chu was a master of drunken fighting. Apparently Chu had been looking after Rinku ever since he had found him on the streets. Then came the two ninja, each with the power to control a force of nature. They were Touya, master of ice, who was practically Kurama's clone, and Jin, master of wind. He would talk so fast that she had to put effort into understanding anything he said.

At the moment she was watching Yusuke and Chu go at what the called a "Knife-edge (not) Death Match." According to Rinku, the name came from how they met. They decided to settle their very first fight with a Knife-edge Death Match. Yusuke won but chose to spare Chu's life. They'd been friends ever since. Keiko really didn't understand the appeal of this fight, it just seemed to consist of them putting their foot up against a knife and pummeling each other until one of them collapsed or cut their foot in two.

"What exactly do you guys like about this?" she asked the assembled demons.

Jin was the first to answer, "Well missy, I'd say it's pretty obvious you're not a fighter. That's fine; there wouldn't be any sense in all everybody killing each other all the time would there? But you see what's really special about this here fight is that it's a pure test of endurance, can't take the heat stay out of the kitchen am I right?" It only took Jin five seconds to say all that.

"Uh, right." Keiko hadn't understood a word he just said.

Touya sighed, "What Jin meant was that these two aren't using any special moves or powers, it's just them and their strength. This means you can't blame a loss on a fancy technique or weapon; you lose because you're weaker, plane and simple.

"Oh, well I guess that makes sense. Sort of."

Rinku piped up. "Oh don't worry, they do this all the time. Heck, this'll be they're sixtieth match so far. Wanna know how many Yusuke's won?"

"Sure."

They heard a thud and turned back to the match to see Chu on the ground and Yusuke yelling, "oh yeah bitch!" before flopping on the floor himself.

"Sixty."

Seriously? Chu hadn't won once out of sixty and he still kept trying? Keiko shook her head; she'd never understand fighters. "So how exactly did you all come to meet Yusuke anyway?"

"I can tell you that sister," Rinku again. "It started after we'd heard that the Four Saint Beasts had been killed. You see, Chu had been thinking about taking them on himself in order to gain some fame, and he was pretty upset when he heard someone else did them in. So the two of us packed our things and headed out to Maze Castle looking for who did it."

"Wait are you saying that-"

"Pu!" said the little creature lying snuggly in her arms. He looked quite pleased with himself.

"Yep, it was Yusuke and Hiei that took 'em down. When we came across those two, Chu challenged Yusuke to a fight right there on the spot. They were pretty even; both of them used up all their demon energy. So in order to settle the fight Chu decided that they'd have a death match, and you already know how that went."

"Wait, so Yusuke met Hiei before any of you? Then how'd those two meet? They're so, well, different."

Rinku shrugged. "Beats me sis. Neither one of them is big on talking about the past ya' know? All we know is that Yusuke helped Hiei find his long-lost sister and Hiei's never left him since, even though he keeps saying they're not friends."

"Long-lost sister?"

"Yeah, some scum-bag of a human captured her because her tears turn into jewels. He planned to torture her until she'd cried him a fortune."

Keiko's head was spinning. Ever since she met Yusuke, her world had been turned upside down. It used to be that demons (except Kurama) were evil and humans were good. Now it was like someone had taken her world and made it spin backwards.

Just then a young girl entered the room. She was short, with sea foam-green hair, wearing a light blue kimono. She looked like she was the same age as Keiko.

Rinku grinned. "Well, speak of the devil."

Wait, _this_ wasHiei's sister? She didn't look anything like him. She seemed far too…delicate. She moved toward Keiko's group, stopping directly in front of the human girl.

"Excuse me, are you the human girl Yusuke saved?" Keiko was taken aback, not only did this girl seem friendly, but she was the only demon she'd met other than Touya and Hokushin that seemed to understand the concept of manners. And she was Hiei's sister? Keiko was so shocked she could only nod her head in conformation. "Pleased to meet you," the girl extended her hand, "I'm Yukina, Hiei's twin sister."

Keiko returned her greeting. "Oh, it's um, very nice to meet you."

"Likewise. I hope you don't mind me asking, but how has your stay been since you've arrived? I can't imagine that it would be easy for any human to stay here."

"Oh, not at all. I mean, I drew a few stares when we first arrived sure, but it's not like I've been treated poorly or anything." Yukina looked relived.

Jin, who had looked like he was about to explode ever since Rinku started telling Keiko their back-story, decided that now was the appropriate time to interject. "Well, not to be too insensitive here lass, but I've got a good ol' story or two to tell ya' about Yusuke and us. So you see, it was just," this four-second outburst was brought to an end when Touya covered his friend's mouth.

"What my friend here means to say is that we would be happy to explain how we came to meet Yusuke, if you so desire." Jin pouted at being interrupted.

While Keiko didn't appreciate Jin's rudeness, she decided information on Yusuke's past was too good to refuse. Even if it did make her feel like she was turning into Botan. "I'd like that, if you're sure it's no trouble."

"Not at all. In the beginning, Jin and I were members of the Shinobi, along with our three friends. We had been hired by a human to steal the treasure of the Saint Beasts by any means necessary. Like Chu, we were quite upset to learn that someone else had taken their heads. After raiding the few treasures Hiei and Yusuke let behind, we tracked them, finally crossing paths in the mountains. Chu and Rinku had already joined them." Touya sighed, looking down at the floor as he continued. "The encounter ended with Yusuke's victory of course. Gama fought Chu to his dying breath; it was a good and honest death. Chu was so exhausted after the fight that he wasn't even a threat. But Bakken decided to make Chu pay, attacking Chu not to kill him, but to make him suffer. His dishonorable action earned him his death at Yusuke's hands. I can't say I blame him, Bakken's actions angered the Jin and I as well."

Jin piped up, "I'll say, any lily-livered coward like that deserves what he gets. Not just Bakken but that no-good good-for-nothing Risho as well."

Touya shook his head, "Yes Jin, I was just getting to that," he said. "I lost to Hiei in a contest of swordsmanship while Jin and Yusuke fought each other to a draw. But then Risho," Touya's eyes narrowed as he spoke the name, "our so-called leader, who hadn't so much as lifted a finger during the entire battle, decided to flee instead of fight. The coward thought to save his own life by sacrificing us."

Keiko stared at him. He seemed so sad, so angry, so _human_. Friendship, compassion, mercy, sadness; a mere two weeks ago Keiko didn't think any demons possessed any of these qualities. But now, she didn't know what to think. Of course it made sense when she thought about it; not all humans were good, so by that same logic not all demons were evil. It just all seemed so impossible; it was like she was in some sort of dream.

Touya continued. "But he didn't get away with it. Hiei may have been tired from our duel, but he was still strong enough to take Rinku and chase down Risho. They returned carrying his head." Keiko cringed at the mental image. "Hiei thought to do the same to us, but Yusuke refused. With nowhere else to go, we decided to join them."

Keiko still couldn't rap her mind around why people would join up with the people that beat them and killed their friends. Maybe it was a demon thing. Then there was the question of Hiei; he and Yusuke were so inherently different from each other, how did they ever become friends? Well Hiei's sister was right here; she may as well ask her. "Yukina, pardon my asking, but do you know how Yusuke and Hiei met up?"

"Oh, I'm afraid I don't. Neither of them speak of it that much. But if you like, I could tell you the story of how they and their friends rescued me."

Another dead end on the road to Yusuke's past. Still, her story was the last one Keiko hadn't heard besides Yusuke and Hiei's; it couldn't hurt to hear it. "Sure Yukina, go ahead."

"Well, my story is fairly simple. Five years ago, I was captured by a human crime boss by the name of Tarukane. This man tortured me, forcing me to cry, all because my tears turn into valuable jewels. Initially my will allowed me to resist him, but when one of his underlings tried to help me escape, Tarukane killed him, brutally. I cried enough to fill a small box with jewels. This only encouraged that monster of course. He even went so far as to hire Toguro, the leader of the Apparition Gang. It was just after that when Yusuke, Hiei, and the others arrived." Jin seemed to take some offense to being referred to simply as an "other." "They were able to kill every member of the Apparition Gang except for Toguro himself. Yusuke fought him with everything he had, but he was still beaten to an inch of his life. Not to mention that Toguro was using less than half his full power at the time." Less than half? Keiko couldn't believe there was anybody that powerful, not after what she'd seen Yusuke do. Plus, for some reason, the thought of Yusuke beaten that badly made her very upset. Yukina noticed this. "Oh, you don't need to worry, that was three years ago. Yusuke's become much stronger sine then." Her reassurance caused Keiko to blush. "But even though Yusuke was defeated, Hiei killed Tarukane. So in the end they were still able to rescue me."

"Wait, so why did this Toguro guy just let you all go?"

Touya answered before Jin could. "With his employer dead, he no longer had any reason to fight us. In addition, Yusuke was apparently the most challenging opponent he'd fought in a long time. He wanted Yusuke to become stronger, strong enough so that they could fight each other as equals. Yusuke's been training here ever since, waiting for that rematch."

No matter how hard she tried, Keiko just couldn't understand these people. Then again, she didn't understand how these people could enjoy fighting in the first place. She snuck a peek at the collapsed Yusuke, who had apparently decided that the floor was a good place for a nap. Despite everything his friends had told him, she still didn't have answers to any of the big questions. If Raizen was his father, then who was his human mother? How did he meet Hiei? Why did they kill the Saint Beasts? Keiko felt like she had to know these things, and she would make sure she got the answers.


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: Sorry it took so long to get this chapter up, life's been keeping me busy.**

* * *

Even though she had been there for three days, Keiko still found the castle halls to be eerily empty at night. The shadows seemed like they were watching her, just waiting for the chance to pull her into the abyss. Her footsteps echoed, broadcasting her location to anyone with working ears.

"Pu!" The noise froze Keiko for half a second, before she discerned that its source was none other than the adorable little creature in her arms.

"What is it Pu?" The previous two nights Pu had never spoken up during her walk back to her room. "Is something the matter?"

The small creature continued its frantic noisemaking, pointing ahead of them with one of his petite arms. Whatever it was, it was hiding just beyond the torchlight, so that Keiko could only make out the shadow of a silhouette. "Hello?" she stammered. "Who are you?"

The walked into the light, revealing a monster with parted black hair and green skin, covered in eyes. Keiko took a step back, but before she could do more the eyes began to glow a terrible shade of red, and she found herself unable to move. Struggle as she might, all she accomplished was moving her eyes around and opening her mouth to speak.

"W-What do want with me?"

The monster drew closer. Keiko looked down to find Pu, now silent, sharing her predicament. The monster was now mere centimeters from her; it's small size (the monster's head barely reached her chest) doing nothing to alleviate her fear. It looked straight into her eyes.

"Do I frighten you?" Keiko's breath caught in her throat, her eye's widened. The voice was Hiei's. "Does my true form make your skin crawl, your blood run cold? Answer me girl!" Keiko, after failing to nod, squeaked out the affirmative. "I thought so. You humans don't mind us demons, as long as we look like you. But the moment we show our true form, you hate us. You fear us. You wish us dead." What was he getting at? Keiko wondered. "This is why your newfound, infatuation, with Yusuke is nothing more than a sham."

Infatuation? Did he mean love? Is that what these feelings inside her were? If only her mind wasn't in such a panic, she might be able to think long enough to decide if that was really how she felt. Instead, all she could do was let out a measly, "What?" which only seemed to irritate the demon.

"Yusuke's been deceiving you this whole time. He hasn't once shown you his true form, nor has he told you of the atrocities he's committed." A cruel, sad smile appeared on the demon's lips. "The moment you see him for what he is, you'll be begging to return to your village, to stay as far away from him as possible." Hiei reverted back into his other, more human form, and Keiko found she could move again. Hiei walked passed them, and without even looking back he added one final statement. "You're just a human, after all."

Keiko slumped to the floor, clutching Pu so hard that the small creature found it difficult to breath. Love? Is that what she felt? Ever since she met Yusuke, her life seemed more complete, despite the fact that she was left without her family and friends. She even felt hesitant to return to her village, because she'd never see him again. Yes, she loved Yusuke. The realization didn't shock her, didn't make her start losing her nerve about everything. It just brought a small smile to her face. She relaxed her grip, much to Pu's relief, and looked back down the hall. Just what did Hiei mean by "atrocities"? Hiei had succeeded in making Keiko more determined than ever to learn Yusuke's past. The only difference was, for the first time she was afraid she might not like what she heard.

* * *

The next day went by uneventfully. Yusuke showed her around the capital, again, and then left her with Yukina while he went to train. For some reason, the time never felt right for her to ask him about his past; he seemed to be enjoying himself and she didn't want to ruin the mood. So she spent the day learning about demons and demon culture from Yukina, with Yukina learning human culture from her in turn. Hiei came across them, took the time to glare at her, and continued on his way. Yukina inquired into what happened, but Keiko brushed off the question. Night came, and once again Keiko walked down the eerie halls. This time however, her destination was Yusuke's rom.

After three minutes of waiting, he arrived. He was certainly surprised to see Keiko standing in front of his room, though it didn't stop him from acting in his usual, inappropriate manner. "Well, if you wanted to share a room all ya' had to do was ask."

Keiko didn't slap him. Instead she stared at him, her eyes hard and judgmental. "Yusuke," she said, "I want answers."

"Answers? I didn't even hear the question." Despite his nonchalant tone of voice, he still took the precaution of stepping back.

"I mean about your past Yusuke. Rinku and Touya already told me everything they know, but that's only half the story, isn't it? Yusuke, Hiei showed me his true form last night, and he told me you were hiding yours from me." Yusuke's eyes narrowed. Keiko's voice turned frantic. "What did he mean when he said you've committed atrocities? Just please," her voice became a whisper, "let me see the real you."

"The real me?" Yusuke's voice was cold, angry. It bit into her like frostbite. "Fine."

Yusuke ripped off his shirt; strange markings began to appear all over his body, covering his chest, his abdomen, his arms, even his face and neck. This hair grew long, becoming nearly as large as he was. His brown eyes now had a red tint to them. All in all, he now looked the part of a monster. Keiko, in spite of herself, took a step back.

"See? You're scared of me! Scared of the monster I really am! Everyone is!" He took a breath, though it seemed to have the effect of increasing his anger. "Atrocities? Yeah, you could call it that. I've killed plenty of humans in my time." Keiko's eyes grew wide, her entire body locked up, unable to move. "Oh, look, you're not so eager to hear my past now are you? Well too bad! You know that drunk from your village, Atsuko?" Keiko could barley manage a nod. "Well I've got some news for you. She's my foster mother. And I'm the demon that massacred her village."

Keiko stood there, eyes wide as galaxies. This has to be a dream, she thought, some type of nightmare. Yusuke couldn't have killed an entire human village; he just isn't that kind of person. Yes, this is all just some horrible dream; I'll wake up any minute now

Despite her efforts to deny what she was seeing, Keiko knew it was real. "H-how," she stammered. "Why?"

Yusuke continued to glare at her. "Why huh? It's because I'm a half-breed." His voice grew soft, choked. His gaze shifted down as he slipped back into the past. "You see, my birth mother was the village healer. One time Raizen was taking a trip around the different outlying villages, something he does ever five or so decades to keep the peace. When he comes to my village, he meets my mother. Now my old man never lost a fight in his life, but this woman is able to completely defeat him using only her words. My old man still has told me what she said, but the fact that she, a mere mortal, was able to beat the king of the demons let quite the impression. They fell in love and, well, made love. Of course, the day after they do it my old man ditches her, thinking he's 'unworthy' of someone as amazing as she is. Nine months later and my birth mother dies in childbirth, sticking me with her best friend, Atsuko. My mom, Atsuko I mean, she used to be married. But when I came along, her husband refused to accept a half-breed as a kid, so he went and ditched us. After that, Mom stated drinking. The villagers hated me. To them, I was just a monster. And not just any monster, I was the son of the monster they thought was the devil made flesh. I hated them, just like they hated me. Still, I never wanted to kill anyone. Yeah, I was violent, but I was always sure not to hurt anyone more than they could take. Then _he_ came." Yusuke's eyes narrowed, his face twisting with inhuman rage. "For years ago, we were in the middle of a drought, a really bad one. It had the villagers even more stirred up than usual. Then outta nowhere comes this guy who starts saying that it's me who's causing it, that my very existence has tainted the land and that the only way to fix it is to water our crops with my blood."

Keiko was beginning to think this story was becoming too much for her to bear. Just the thought of some spilling Yusuke's blood made her want to loose her supper, to scream at the top of her lungs for this terrible story to end. But she had to be strong, she asked for this after all. Still, the story was enough to make her drop Pu, who waddled up to Yusuke, sharing his pain.

"Oh yeah," Yusuke said, nostalgia lining his words. "This little guy was created when I was born. Apparently my spirit was so strong that it actually created a physical duplicate of itself. But still," he said, his voice returning to its somber state. "This little guy could do much to help me. Mom and I fought back the villagers as hard as we could; literally the entire village was trying to kill me. Still, neither one of us wanted to kill them. That's why we lost. I ended up with a kitchen knife through the heart; my mom was only knocked unconscious. It was the strangest thing; I was dead as dirt but I could still sense what was going on around me. They dragged me and Pu to the crops. They were going to drain our blood like you would a pig's." Yusuke sighed, a sad, pathetic sound. "That's when it happened. My rebirth. I turned into what you're looking at right now: demonic markings and huge-ass hair. I was so angry at them. Why shouldn't I have been!? They were trying to kill me for God's sake!" He tried to hide it, but Keiko saw his eyes begin to water. Then he laughed, the same kind of laugh you make when you see a family member dead and you can't bring yourself to believe it. "So I killed them. All of them. The men, the women, even the children. When I finally got control of myself it looked like I had bathed in blood. Then I saw two things. The first: that Pu had been transformed too, into the giant bird you saw before. Second: my mom, standing on the edge of the fields, a hand to her mouth, tears streaming from her eyes." The tears were streaming from Yusuke's eyes too. "So we ran, Pu and I. We ran and never looked back. My own mother thinks I'm a monster Goddamnit! If she doesn't love me, no one does." He looked up at her with what was probably supposed to be some vicious glare, but ended up looking like a desperate, tear-filled cry for help. "So that's-" He was cut off by a slap to the face.

Keiko's face could have made even Raizen's blood run cold. "Yusuke, you idiot! Do you know how I found out Atsuko even had a son? She was crying out for you, asking why you had to leave!" Yusuke stared at her, stunned. He didn't know if it was from her word or from her slap. Even Pu took a cautious step backwards. "She wasn't crying because of you killing those villagers, no-those monsters! She was crying because you were alive." Keiko's words began to fill with tears. "You were alive. She still loves you Yusuke. And so do…" Keiko cut herself off.

After a second, Yusuke regained his ability to speak. "Keiko, what are you saying?"

"I'm saying…I mean…" She reached forward, grabbed his head, and pressed their lips together.

"You know," she said after the kiss ended, "I like this true form of yours. It makes you look more like, well more like you."

Yusuke gazed into her eyes, as she gazed into his. "Do you really mean that?" he asked.

"Of course I do," She answered.

"You know, it's a pretty long walk back to your room," he said.

"Yeah," she said.

"And it's pretty late, huh?" he said.

"Yep," she said.

Pu sighed to himself. It looked liked he'd be maintaining his spiritual barrier all night.


End file.
